One Piece: sign-in to Ryujin Jakka

"What are you researching?!"

A stern voice rang out from behind Caesar.

Startled, Caesar spun around instantly, hurriedly shoving the vial behind his back.

"Uh, I wasn't researching anything! Just… just…"

His eyes darted nervously, his brain working overtime to come up with an excuse that Vegapunk might actually believe.

But he was facing Vegapunk—the genius scientist five hundred years ahead of his time. There was no way Caesar's lies could get past him.

Without hesitation, Vegapunk said coldly,

"From this moment forward, you're fired. Pack your things and leave this island."

Then he turned and walked away, not even sparing Caesar a second glance.

That condescending attitude struck a nerve deep inside Caesar's heart.

Years of resentment exploded at once!

"Vegapunk! You're just scared I'll surpass you, aren't you?! That's why you're kicking me off the research team!"

Face twisted in madness, back hunched, bloodshot eyes glaring—Caesar screamed with fury.

"Kuhihihihi… Just you wait! Before I leave, I'll give you—no, I'll give the entire science division-a farewell gift!"

"Kuhihihihi!"

His maniacal laughter echoed through the lab.

With crazed determination, Caesar began producing his new formula in mass quantities.

He planned to create an enormous poison gas bomb—one capable of wiping out all of Punk Hazard!

And as he worked, he muttered to himself:

"I heard Admiral White Dove is being sent here by the Marines to take over the science division. If my bomb manages to kill him…"

"Then once I spread the word, all the pirates on the Grand Line will be awestruck by my genius!"

"They'll flock to buy my poison bombs! And I… will be placed upon the altar of science as a god!!"

Meanwhile, Roman was completely unaware of all this.

With two days until his official arrival, he was taking it easy—Lying on a sun lounger, basking in the warmth. Eyes closed, he casually instructed,

"Train your Devil Fruit powers seriously, Perona. Your abilities will be a huge asset if developed properly."

"Hmph."

Perona floated beside him, puffing her cheeks with mock indignation. With a gleam in her eye, she launched a Negative Hollow at Roman. But for someone with peak Observation Haki, he had seen it coming five minutes ago and easily dodged it.

After giving Perona a proper mix of carrot and stick, she finally became obedient.

The battleship cut swiftly across the sea, soon arriving at the waters of Punk Hazard. At this point, Caesar had already been expelled from the research unit.

But before leaving, he had prepared a "present" for them.

The time to detonate it… wasn't quite yet. He wanted to see White Dove's arrival first, and then personally destroy everything. That thought made Caesar quiver with excitement.

"Kuhihihihi~"

His chilling laughter echoed again across the island.

Many locals trembled when they heard it, glancing his way as if to say:

"This guy's definitely lost it."

But Caesar didn't care. In his eyes, they were already dead.

At the port, he watched as a massive battleship slowly pulled in.

Roman jumped off the ship. The moment his feet touched the ground, his keen senses locked onto Caesar. That burning gaze was far too obvious to ignore.

In mere seconds, Roman pieced everything together.

Caesar had likely been fired… and now intended to detonate poison gas bombs across the island.

Roman's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Perona asked.

"Nothing," Roman replied. "Just stumbled onto something interesting."

Ever since her scolding, Perona had become incredibly obedient, even calling him "Captain-sama."

Just then, a mechanical voice rang in Roman's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully signing in. Reward acquired: Summoning Technique. This technique allows you to form contracts with any creature. Once signed, the creature can be summoned to your side anytime and will obey you unconditionally.]

Hearing that, Roman smiled faintly.

Perfect. He'd send a clone to Fishman Island and sign Sea Dragon as a summon.

Then, if anything ever came up, he'd have a powerful ally.

"Let's go, Perona."

"Yes, Captain-sama. My body's still in the ship's cabin—is that okay?"

"No worries. I left a phantom clone onboard."

That reassured her a lot.

Roman cast a glance at Caesar, who was still sneaking around in the distance,

Then headed toward the science division lab.

Caesar wiped his forehead, though there wasn't even any sweat there.

For some reason, he felt like Roman had noticed him.

But his pride kept telling him that it was impossible.

He convinced himself everything would go according to plan—Once Roman entered the lab, he'd trigger the poison bombs and destroy everything.

Then, he thought, 'I'll be hailed as the smartest man in the world.'

Roman didn't spare Caesar a second thought.

Bringing Perona along, he entered the lab.

Inside, the science division troops were already lined up, standing at attention, waiting for Roman's arrival.

At the head was none other than Sentomaru,

Captain of the Science Division and Vegapunk's bodyguard.

Upon seeing Roman enter, Sentomaru shouted:

"Salute!!!"

At his command, the entire force saluted in perfect unison.

Roman looked at Sentomaru and opened his mouth to speak—